


<s>Brothers</s> Lovers in arms

by Windfighter



Series: Winteriron week [5]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Past Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Pre-Relationship, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 13:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19992652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windfighter/pseuds/Windfighter
Summary: Following the defeat of Thanos and the return of everyone who was snapped Tony shut himself away from the world as he poured all his energy into building himself a new arm. So okay, maybe isolating himself and causing his mental health to plummet wasn't the most productive way to go about it, but luckily his family was not going to leave it like that.





	Brothers Lovers in arms

**Author's Note:**

> For Winteriron week day 5 I ended up using all the prompts because why the heck not so Prompts for this work was "Celebration / 'Bad timing?' / Prosthetic Arms". Dunno how well I succeeded though.
> 
> So anyway have some pre-winteriron and a slight Endgame fix-it while we're on it. So for this work Tony survived his snap but ended up losing his arm because obviously.

Tony emerged from his workshop after another 30-hour binge. He was dressed only in a t-shirt and boxers and the latest vesion of his arm had just been installed. He had to go to the gym to do some testing of it. He could already tell it would need some tweaking – it hurt where it connected to his shoulder and the sensations he recieved from it were slightly off – but he wanted to check how it operated before restarting work on it.

The house was dark, but he knew it by heart, had designed it himself and didn't need lights to navigate it. The quiet in it got to him though, he missed hearing Morgan and Pepper playing, working, watching movies, but he understood their reasons for leaving. He was broken beyond repair, too busy trying to get back what he had lost when he snapped. Some days he wished it had taken him because even though he had gotten his whole world back he had been unable to hold on to it. Peter still called him every day, but he could never answer, still felt guilty for letting Peter disappear for five years.

_No, I didn't let him. There was nothing I could do.  
_

Tony closed his eyes, forced his body to take deep breaths as memories of Titan threatened to overwhelm him. Robotic fingers brushed against his thigh and he flinched, was pulled back to the present. He stared at the red and gold arm hanging by his side, shook his head and continued towards the gym.

”SURPRISE!” several voices shouted as he entered the living room.

Tony jumped, his arm fired a repulsor blast at the floor, splintered it and he yelped in pain as a piece of wood buried into his right calf. He should have worn pants. He cursed, slid down to the floor and glared at everyone.

”I have a heart condition, you know.”

It really was everyone. Pepper handed Morgan to Peter, sank down next to him and looked at his newest injury.

”Oh, Tony”, she kissed his cheek. ”We didn't mean to scare you.”

”What are you doing here anyway?”

”It's your birthday, doll”, Bucky nodded towards the table which had a huge cake and a couple of presents. ”Bad timing?”

”Sneaking up on an old man is always bad timing”, Tony muttered but accepted Pepper's and Steve's help as they picked him up from the floor and led him to the couch. Professor Hulk found one of the many first aid-kits Pepper had left around the house and sat down next to him, pulled the piece of wood out and examined the cut for any left-over splinters before stitching it up and putting a bandage over. Tony stared in fascination at the gentle way Hulk's hands moved. He yawned and leaned against the back of the couch.

”Fri, why didn't you warn me about the visitors?”

”You muted me ten hours ago, boss.”

”We're going over your protocols after the party.” He nodded towards his prosthetic arm. ”Anyone wanna help me get it off?”

”You sure, doll?”

”Yeah, don't want to blast anyone by mistake. Plus it kind of hurts.”

He thought Peter would be the one to help him, but Peter hid behind others and instead Bucky sat down. Tony gave him instructions on the pieces he couldn't reach, released whatever he could reach himself and then Bucky took the arm off his shoulder. Tony let out a sigh of relief and Bucky stared in awe at the arm.

”It's beautiful.”

”It will be more beautiful when I get it to work. Sorry about destroying your surprise party. Didn't think I left the trigger that sensitive.”

He was so tired, but a cup of coffee showed up in front of him, Natasha's hand offering it. He smiled at her and gulped the black gold down before anyone could blink. His eyes fell on Bucky who, if he didn't know better, almost looked lovesick. Red magic lifted the cake from the table and held it infront of him. Wanda smiled at him.

”Blow out the candles.”

”For the record, that's way too many candles”, Tony noted before attempting to blow them out.

He managed five, then he was out of breath. The others laughed and he did a new attempt, managed the rest of the candles only becaue Peter had let Morgan down and she helped him. She climbed into his lap.

”What did you wish for?”

”You can only make a wish if you get all candles at once. But I wished to have my whole family here for my birthday.”

Morgan giggled.

”That's a stupid wish, we're all here already!”

He looked around, at Morgan, Pepper, Peter, Rhodey, the Avengers, and nodded.

”Yeah, you are.”

”Mr Stark...”

_Mr Stark, I don't feel so good._ Tony closed his eyes, opened them. Peter looked nervous.

”Kid, please call me Tony.”

”T... Tony. Are you mad at me?”

”What? Peter, no.”

He pulled Peter down, gave him a hug.

”Don't you ever, ever dare think I'm angry at you. You could blow up the moon and I wouldn't fault you.”

”Why won't you talk with me then?”

Peter's hands gripped at his shirt as if Tony was his life-line and Tony took a shaky breath, held on to Peter equally hard.

”It's not on you kid, never on you. I can't...” He swallowed down whatever tears threatened him. ”I'm angry at myself.”

”Why? You saved us, saved the world, the whole universe.”

”It was Bruce.”

”No”, Peter let go of him, pulled away and forced him to look into Peter's eyes. ”They told me _everything._ It was all thanks to _you._ _You_ solved the timetravel-issue, _you_ built the gauntlet, and _you_ was the one who defeated Thanos. I saw the last one myself so don't even try to argue.”

”We defeated him together. And if Regular-sized Man over there", he gestured at Scott, "hadn't told us about the quantum realm we wouldn't have been able to travel through time. It's... it's all thanks to him.”

”No”, Peter flicked his forehead and he blinked. ”You don't get to belittle what you did.”

Tony looked away.

”I let you down.”

”You could never let me me down”, Peter hugged him again. ”You could blow up the moon and I would still follow you.”

Tony laughed, hugged the kid back.

”Believing in someone blindly like that isn't good you know.”

But somewhere inside he could feel himself starting to heal.

The party was quieting down. Morgan, Peter and Rhodey had fallen asleep while watching Toy Story, Strange, Carol and T'challa had left for their regular duties, Wanda had left together with Strange and Tony wasn't sure what to think about that. Scott, Hope and Clint had left to go home to their families, Sam, Steve and Pepper were talking in the kitchen and Natasha and Bruce had disappeared to somewhere. Thor had also left, together with the guardians since there was always something to do in the Universe, someone who needed rescuing. Tony was almost falling asleep himself.

”The arm really was amazing”, Bucky said and sat down on his right side.

Part of Tony's brain, the more basic one where all the monkey-instincts still lived, told him that he should be afraid being next to the assassin that had killed his parents and he hadn't had enough time to get to know, but he felt relaxed, leaned his head against the back of the couch.

”Only part of me that is”, he let out a sigh.

”What?”

Tony held his left hand out for Bucky to shake.

”Winter Soldier, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am The Merchant of Death.”

Bucky rolled his eyes and flicked Tony's forehead and Tony blinked. This was the second time someone did that.

”All of you is amazing.”

”Did you miss the part where I'm a murderer?”

”So am I.”

”No, shit, that's different. You were under control. I murdered on my own violation.”

”And then you saved the people of Gulmira. Saved the world by stopping the massproduction of iron monger-suits. Saved the people in Monaco. In New York. Several times by the way. Saved the world _again_ by taking care of HYDRA-assholes.”

”Group effort”, Tony protested. ”Steve, Natasha and Sam did most of the work.”

Bucky ignored his protests.

”You saved the people of Johannesburg. Saved most of the people of Sokovia. And the world.”

”They wouldn't have needed saving if it wasn't for me.”

”Being able to create an AI like that is honestly also amazing. Everything you create is amazing. I've seen the team's gear, also amazing. But that doesn't matter, it's not because the things you've created that you'e amazing, it's how you keep coming back, keep trying to fix it, make it right. How you keep helping everyone even after everything they've done to you.”

”Shane would disagree with you.”

”The Avengers wouldn't. And anyway it's not just _that_.”

”Holy shit, there's _more_?”

”It's the soft sounds you make when you get your coffee, and the way your eyes lit up when you study something and take it apart with your mind, and the way your hair falls when the hairproducts you use have been removed, and your cute nose, and the way your fingers can't stop twitching at the thought of building, and the way you smile when you think no one is watching, and....”

”Shit Robocop, take a man to dinner first.”

”Sure, when are you free?”

Tony twisted, pressed his left hand to Bucky's face and laughed. Bucky grabbed his hand and licked it.

”Oh ew. You are disgusting.”

He dried his hand off on Bucky's shirt. Bucky just laughed, wrapped an arm around Tony and pulled him close, somehow turning him around so Tony was sitting with his back leaned against Bucky's chest.

”I'm serious though, I'd love to take you on a date. If you'd let me.”

”I'm not very good for relationships, just ask Pepper.”

”I prefer to reach my own conclusions. It's just a date, promise. If it leads to a relationship we'll tackle that when we get to it. And I mean, the Winter Soldier and the Merchant of Death?” Bucky nibbled on Tony's ear. ”Perfect combination.”

Tony couldn't stop the moan from escaping his lips.

”Fine, you win, one date. But only if you let me take a look at your arm as well.”

”Whatever you need, doll. But no upgrading it until the third date.”

”What if I decide on no more dates?”

Bucky shrugged.

”I'll have to settle for letting Shuri do it.”

”Don't let her hear that.”

Steve and Sam got back from the kitchen and Steve raised an eyebrown at the two people in the couch. Bucky grinned towards him.

”Jealous?”

”Not really. You ready to head home?”

”Yeah, sure”, Bucky got up from the couch, winked at Tony. ”Pick you up at friday?”

”Friday's good. See you then.”

Bucky left together with Sam and Steve and Tony put his hand over his face.

”Fri, what the fuck just happened?”

”Do you wish me to replay the conversation, boss?”

”No, just... set a reminder for Friday and make sure I listen to it.”

He let his hand fall down. Pepper stood in the doorway between the dining room and the living room and smiled at him. He gave a weak smile back and she sat down next to him, pulled him into a hug.

”We miss you, you know.”

He grabbed her shirt, held on to it as if his life hung on it.

”I miss you too.”

He curled in on her and she kissed the top of his head.

”I'm sorry we only work when the world has ended, but Tony... don't let our failure keep you away from happines.”

”I love you so much, Pep. So, so much.”

”I know. And I love you. I always will.”

She dried his tears, gently coerced him to let go of her. She put her hand on his cheek, caressed it with her thumb.

”You haven't been sleeping.” She kissed his cheek. ”I'll set up the couch and then the two of us will lay down in it together with the rest of our family.”

She nodded towards Rhodey, Morgan and Peter and Tony grabbed her hand, pressed his cheek into it, pressed his lips against it.

”What would I do without you?”

”Work on your arm”, Pepper smiled, pulled him up and sat him down in the armchair before turning the huge couch into an even larger bed. She filled it with blankets and pillows before waking Rhodey up. He yawned, stretched, and Peter and Morgan woke up as well. Natasha and Bruce came back, noticed them setting up for sleep and wished them goodnight.

”Come by the compound sometime”, Natasha hugged Tony and kissed his cheek. ”We miss you.”

”Yeah... maybe.”

”I have some experiments I'd like you to look at”, Bruce offered and Tony laughed.

”How could I refuse after that? I'll come when...” he glanced at his missing arm. ”I'll stop by later.”

They left the cabin and Tony hobbled back to the couch, fell down in it and buried himself in the pillows. Morgan crawled up to him and he rolled over to his back.

”Hey pumpkin.”

”Mommy says you have a _date_.”

”Now why would she tell you that?”

”She also told me to go over and hug you.”

Morgan threw herself down next to him, cuddled up on his left side and he wrapped his arm around her and gave her a hug.

”I'm happy you're happy again, dad.”

Tony kissed the top of her head and smiled.

”I'm getting there at least. Go to sleep now.”

He noticed Peter standing awkwardly at the edge of the bed and gestured for him to join in as well. He curled up behind Morgan, rested his head on Tony's arm and Tony smiled at the kid. Rhodey also flopped down, Pepper helped him out of the braces and then he laid down on Tony's right side and flicked Tony's forehead just like Peter and Bucky.

”Don't close us out like this again, you hear me?”

”Yeah, loud and clear. Sorry, honeybear. I love you?”

”Love you too, but man are you hard to get through to. Heard a certain someone managed to though.”

”...where you all just listening in on our conversation?”

”Word travel fast. Go to sleep now, God knows you need it.”

Pepper crawled into the bed as well, wrapped her family in blankets before placing herself at the head end of the bed, her fingers buried in Tony's hair. He closed his eyes, made himself relax and fell asleep surrounded by his family.

They were still there when he woke up. Peter and Morgan were talking quietly, Rhodey snoring loudly and Pepper in the kitchen making breakfast. He stretched, sat up and saw his arm on the table. He still needed to work on that.

”Hey, Pete, wanna help me with the arm?”

”Can I?”

”Yeah, of course.”

”It's just, you haven't let me before.”

Peter carefully grabbed the arm, helped Tony put it back on. Tony groaned as the pain returned. He really needed to fix that. He rubbed his eyes with his non-metal hand.

”Feeling a bit more human now so you're welcome to join me. If you want to. You too, pumpkin.”

He got out of the bed, picked Morgan up and left for the gym. Peter put an arm around him as they walked, helped him take a bit of weight off the injured leg. He sat down with Morgan on a bench when they reached the gym and went back to whatever conversation Tony had interrupted while Tony went to work on testing the arm. He made notes with Friday about everything he noticed, everything he could improve. He had a deadline now. He smiled, even though the punch he gave the sandbag send a jolt of pain through his whole body. On Friday, when it was time for his date with Bucky, he had to have the arm functioning.

**Author's Note:**

> Their date? it was a disaster and Tony loved every second of it.


End file.
